Based on my understanding of the translation, it was some kind of deform of his spine that causes repeat neck problem. So I guess it wasn't what I thought he meant in the English itw, ooops, lost in translation again. I have constant neck pain too, I wonder if I have problem with my spine too, though I never check my spine to see if it's in right shape. Haha, not that I'm trying to be like Gilles or anything .

Anyway, he's still hope to go to Casablanca (with a bye, he can start on thurs), but he won't play unless the pain completely goes away...something like that.

I should really learn French properly, feel so pretentious to assume I understand anything thru google translation

04-01-2011 03:54 AM

Scotso

Re: Journey on to Indian Wells & Miami, 2011

He'll be okay. He's been through worse.

04-01-2011 02:53 AM

Kezzi

Re: Journey on to Indian Wells & Miami, 2011

Thanks. When I read that part I immediately remembered my mom telling me to sit up straight when I was younger, so I guess that's where I got the wrong idea.

04-01-2011 02:41 AM

angela5

Re: Journey on to Indian Wells & Miami, 2011

Yeah I think that's what he means. Like how some people have flat feet, they don't have the natural arch.

I don't really get what he means with his back being straight. Isn't that a good thing? I do love to read his interviews, especially when they're transcripts, I love this "French" English, my two real-life French friends talk in the exact same way.
Anyway, for the back and neck, he should try Pilates. I will recommend it to him next time I see him.

And even while I love to read his interviews, the sad vibe is really present in this one. Poor guy.

04-01-2011 01:47 AM

darkboy

Re: Journey on to Indian Wells & Miami, 2011

I found the interview, here it is:

Q. How did you hurt your neck?
GILLES SIMON: Well, I felt to this morning during the warmup. It's a pain I have sometimes. I had it in Rotterdam one month ago. I couldn't play either.
I have some problem with my back. I know I have to work on it. Still some days, sometimes I just wake up like this and cannot turn my head that much and really feel uncomfortable on the court. I mean, tennis is a hard game. You have to play 100% if you want to have a chance to win. When you play Roger, you have to play more than that.
I tried to relax after the warmup. I tried everything. I mean, antiinflammatories, hot cream, just trying to feel better. Just after the second forehand, I tried it hit it very hard; I felt it very hard also. I knew I have no chance to play today.

Q. Right when you woke up this morning did you feel it and did you think, Oh, now I might not be able to play?
GILLES SIMON: Not this time. Normally I feel it I think it's sometimes coming when I sleep. If I have a bad position sometimes it happens.
Today it was just during the warmup. I was feeling good and was playing, I mean, just a few minutes, and then I felt it in one move.
Problem is I know that when I feel it, after it's complicated. I have to run a lot, I have to it's my game. I have to fight on every point. If I cannot run, cannot play, it's useless to stay on the court.

Q. Must be so disappointing coming back from the two knee surgeries, playing really well, and you've done well against Roger in the past. Must be bummed.
GILLES SIMON: That's why I say it's a very difficult sport. It's terrible. I had to fight on the last two rounds also. I got one set down every time. I played two hours and 40 minutes two days ago just to have the chance to play this one.
I feel like it's a chance to play this kind of player, Roger, Rafa, Novak, Andy also. You don't play them that often, and every time, I mean, it's a good feeling to play them. If you lose, I mean, it's okay. You're just one more. If you win, you can have an incredible sensation on the court.
Well, I think I did a great job this week to reach the quarterfinal. I was happy this morning to play this match. I was feeling good. So of course when you feel it and then you stay ten minutes on the court without any chance to defend yourself, it's terrible. But problem in tennis is every week sometimes is terrible.

Q. Was it frustrating to hear the crowd's reaction when you walked of the court? Wish you could grab a microphone and explain how badly you felt?
GILLES SIMON: Well, I mean, the public pays the ticket to see the players. They want to see them. It's also tough for them to see Roger only ten minutes today.
But of course the sadness on the court is me for sure. But it's I think the way to I mean, I feel like everybody is not happy about the match. Even Roger. I think he doesn't like to win the match this way. He prefer to win it with all the winners he can do. (Smiling.)
So, of course I feel disappointing about it, but I understand it. I know every time a player retires it's always same.

Q. Where is it? Neck or back?
GILLES SIMON: That's a good point. I don't even know. I feel like it's the neck more.

Q. So you can't move your head which way?
GILLES SIMON: The problem is I cannot put it like this. (Tilting head back.) So every time you return when you're on the court outside the court it's okay, but when you return, when you jump and you have to run, you do it every time and so you feel it every time.

Q. Just during warmups hitting a forehand?
GILLES SIMON: There is some shot I can play. As I told you, I have to do everything perfectly to have a chance to win. It's terrible when you cannot stretch, cannot look at balls on the forehand, you cannot play. It's just like this.

Q. During warmups you were hitting and it just happened?
GILLES SIMON: Yeah, with a backhand.

Q. Did you do any tests the last time it happened to you to try to find out what it is?
GILLES SIMON: Yeah, I know what it is. It's not easy to explain, but I think I have my back like this. (Straight.) For you, you have a normal one. For me, it's straight like this. So it's always hard for me to move.
I mean, usually that's why I feel taller than I am, because I'm always straight like this. That's why also it's sometimes difficult for me. So I know that every time I take the plane, I have to carry the bags and everything, I know I have to be very careful about it.
I'm working on it, but as I say, it's a long work. I mean, I have to work on the position for maybe six months, and when play one month in Australia, one month here, and you travel every time, it's not easy to do all what you need to do.
So I'm working on it, because I'm really not happy when it's happening. Trust me. But sometimes I don't decide.

Q. Anyone tell you you should try yoga?
GILLES SIMON: (Smiling.) I can try many different things. But as you said, I have first the injury. I am still working on it for to be sure. I mean, everybody, every player has some problem, some less than the others.
But I feel like in my career at the moment I had one big problem with my knee; I worked on it. I hope it's behind me. Now I have just a few things to work.
But of course I don't like when it happens after three good match and the chance to play Roger in the quarterfinal.

Q. Who's your favorite player to win this tournament?
GILLES SIMON: To win this one? Well, I feel like Novak is in incredible shape. He's playing very good. He improved a lot the forehand. He has more confidence with the forehand, and he's really hard to defeat, as we could see the last few weeks.
But still, Roger and Rafa also are big champions, and they're able to play incredible tennis. They will need to play this tennis to defeat him.
I don't know if Novak is gonna play like this until the end of his career or if it's just for the moment, but as I said, sometimes I had the same impression with Nadal two years ago when he won Roland Garros, Queen's, Wimbledon, and then the Olympic Games, he was playing I mean, it was a joke on the court.
I think it's going to be interesting, but I think Novak a favorite for this one.

04-01-2011 01:43 AM

darkboy

Re: Journey on to Indian Wells & Miami, 2011

How awful is it for Gillou to complain about his injury? pff

I'm looking forward to the whole interview to see if he tells anything about the next tournaments and how serious this injury is.

04-01-2011 01:35 AM

lalaland

Re: Journey on to Indian Wells & Miami, 2011

I'm seriously glad that he stopped, because the injury just happened and his muscles must be really tight even with the treatment, he could have torn some very tight muscles and got even worse injury if he kept on playing. Who cares if the crowds can't understand why he can't keep going even if he's in pain.

04-01-2011 01:33 AM

lalaland

Re: Journey on to Indian Wells & Miami, 2011

I've looking for his presser transcript, but no luck yet. But he's stated what he said:

Federer through as Simon retires hurt

Thu, 31 Mar 20:57:00 2011

Roger Federer was gifted a spot in the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open, where he could face rival Rafa Nadal, after France's Gilles Simon retired with a stiff neck six minutes into their match.

With Federer having broken him twice to go up 3-0, Simon asked for a medical break and, despite no clear sign of an injury, the Frenchman shook hands with his opponent and the official and walked off court.

A disappointed crowd booed Simon as he headed to the locker room, leaving fans with only a doubles game to watch for the rest of the afternoon session.

Simon said he had suffered a recurrence of a niggling back injury during the warm up.

"I tried to relax after the warm-up. I tried everything. I mean, anti-inflammatories, hot cream, just trying to feel better," Simon said. "Just after the second forehand, I tried to hit it very hard; I felt it very hard also. I knew I had no chance to play today."

The Swiss world number three will face the winner of Thursday's other quarter-final between Spanish world number one Nadal and Czech Tomas Berdych.

Federer said he sympathised with the Simon, who had beaten him twice in the three previous meetings.

"It's not a whole lot fun honestly because you see the guy being booed off the court, which he clearly doesn't deserve," said Federer.

"I understand the frustration from the people paying a lot of money to come see us play for multiple hours potentially, and then it's over within ten minutes. It's not great."

Eurosport

04-01-2011 12:38 AM

Sombrerero loco

Re: Journey on to Indian Wells & Miami, 2011

i think he wont play casablanca....anyway, is he okay?^^

03-31-2011 11:49 PM

Kezzi

Re: Journey on to Indian Wells & Miami, 2011

That crowd!
OMG, if I was there I would have gotten a mic somehow and said I'd come and boo them when they hurt themselves.

Gilles . This is so going to kill whatever momentum he's built up thus far .

Silver, don't mind those GM posters, some are celebrating the H2H, lol, that's how pathetic some are, and they are probably the same posters who had insisted that the previous Simon wins shouldn't have counted because they insisted Fed wasn't 100%. You can only laugh at how ridiculous they are.

In the beginning of his career I liked Fed, but since 2 years or so I really started to dislike him. And his fans (not all of them btw) are really helping that. I get a bit sick of the whole Fed worship these days. As if Gilou can't win when Fed's 100%.
But I've managed to stay out of GM for a year or so now I guess.

I think he plays Casablanca because he doesn't want to open his clay season at Monte Carlo (since he's a slow starter and need to find his clay feet, and Monte Carlo is close to his home town so he always hope to do good there but never did when MC is his first clay tourney). Anyway, he has a bye at Casablanca so he won't play until next thurs if he requests that. So we’ll see what happen there. But this neck injury, I'm worry too, is recurring, which is never a good sign. If he's not completely recovered from it, then I definitely hope he does w/o. Hate to see him tortures himself playing with pain and lose to a nobody, and he did that so very often.

Also, Gilles must be really disappointed, he always loves playing the big matches, to finally fight his way thru to the big match stage and not being able to play really sucks. For that, I really feel bad for him.

+1
Gilou

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